RUMING AND BROWNE TEAM UP FOR A SOLID VICTORY

By Matthew Grimson | Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Sunshine Coast, Sunday June 21.
Maiden Plate - 1000m. Time 1-00.69.
Track - Cushion Track.
1 Krugerrand; 2 Exiled; 3 Floss ‘N’ Boots.

The Bruce Ruming trained Krugerrand showed good first-up improvement in his first start for his new stable when he was produced from well back in the field to take the measure of his market-rival Exiled in the concluding stages to win going away by 1.50 lengths.

Damian Browne’s expertise in the saddle again shone through here as he settled Krugerrand worse than midfield in the early part and he continued to ride the gelding cold until the turn where Krugerrand only had three runners behind him. A deft flick of the wrists saw Browne switch Krugerrand to the outside. Once in daylight, the horse immediately quickened immediately and his challenge gained momentum with every stride as he reeled in the opposition and chased on to a clearcut victory.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Sue Moloney (spokesperson for the Bruce Ruming stable): “We’ve had him for about four months now. He came to us straight after his last run at Canterbury in February. He came with an apparent issue with his knee. He had the worst looking knee you’ve seen. We
tried to treat that but he just seemed to want to get on with things and so we got on with things and this is the result. Yeah, we chose to make some gear changes. The blinkers came off. He didn’t need them.”

Jockey Damian Browne: “To be honest I can’t tell you a great deal about the horse. It was my first ride on him. It wasn’t my intention to take him wide, but they were backing up on the inside and I wanted him to have a clear run. When we did get to the outside he let down really well.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Krugerrand): 3.50 out to 4.00. Equal favourite.
Equal favourite (Exiled): 3.50 out to 4.00. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Bengurion had to be re-plated after casting its near hind plate en route to the barriers. Be Afraid, which was unable to be loaded into the barriers, was declared a late scratching at 1.34 pm. Connections were advised that they must provide a barrier certificate for Be Afraid prior to its next race start.

Connections of Krugerrand, which proved difficult to load, were advised that a barrier certificate would be required prior to the gelding being permitted to race again. Trainer L. Clarke was advised that a warning was being placed on Gold Reef City regarding its barrier manners.